A Black Man In The White House

 

“Nothing splendid has ever been
achieved except by those who dared
believe, that something inside of them
was superior to circumstances.”
– Bruces Barton.

Years back, I became interested in the startling story of one of the finest American presidents: Theodore Roosevelt. After reading something very striking about him somewhere, I jumped into the study of this bright and enigmatic leader. In the course of my dramatic search, I later discovered that the famed and one of the longest serving United States presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was related to him (note: Franklin was his cousin). Surprisingly, other information and facts began to emerge, much to my intellectual excitement.

Interestingly enough, however, one of the items that sparked up this article was when I realized that this widely-known great president of the United States, added the adjective, ‘WHITE’ to the official presidential residence of today’s U.S. presidential lodge, the famous ‘White House’. Immediately, something struck the ‘walls’ of my inquisitive mind. My world temporarily stood still. Questions began to crowd the sanctuary of my now awakened mind. Questions such as: Why the choice of white? The colour black, as it were, was synonymous with blacks, niggers and slaves! Was America, at that time, a white- only country? Were there no promising blacks, Jews, native Indians and\or other potential immigrants? What conditions of the mind or circumstantial factors and other unknown sources conspired to influence the president’s choice of ‘WHITE?’ At that moment, a gentle thought knocked on the doors of my ‘overcharged’ mind, the words of B.F. Skinner swam like a wave through it saying, ‘When you find something interesting, drop everything else and study it.’ This writer, obeyed.

So, the quest began and I had to put on my research gloves and thinking cap. The first thing I expended my energy and thinking on was, what could be the relationship between my desire to probe the ‘White” adjective and the emergence of the first black American president – Barack Obama? Suddenly, a thought provoking title gushed out of my mind like a volcano! This intellectual insight birthed the title of this research-driven article. I quickly wrote the title in a file, and like Sir Isaac Newton, under the apple tree, I started thinking, researching, wrestling with my brain to provide insights, ideas, information and direction to take in the creation of an article, that, putting into consideration the already established literary tradition, will not benefit the Nigerian cum African students alone, this time, but the entire black race!

At this juncture, I shall formulate hard scientific questions, which will assist in giving literary direction to the entire body of this confidence-building and life-enriching article, especially for the black race! Note that a great mind once said ‘you know a person who is knowledgeable by the person’s answers; and the wise person by the nature of their questions.’ The first question is: How did this fatherless African American (whose ancestral home is in Kenya), rise to be the first black man to occupy the most sought after and enviable office in the world – ‘The White House? This question is so important considering the various odds and obstacles the blacks have to contend with in the world, especially in the United States, even today! Kindly ponder on the words by Professor Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, while trying to explain the conditions of the black race in the southern states, in the 19th century. They argued in their insightful book titled, ‘Why Nations Fail’, that, ‘In the meantime, blacks continued to be excluded from power and are repressed. Plantation-type agriculture based on low-wage, poorly educated labour persisted….’ Honestly, one cannot fully say that the situation has completely disappeared in the 21st century! So, the second question is: What are the core factors, or defining characteristics responsible for the political evolution of this black man (Barack Hussein Obama, Jr), and his bold ascendance into the Theodore Roosevelt’s so-named ‘White House?’ Third, linking Obama’s behaviors before his emergence as the President of the world’s most powerful nation, with the broad-based behaviours which he has consistently displayed, so far, in his close to seven years in the White House, what insights and lessons can one glean, and if possible, package, for the benefits of Africans, Nigerians and blacks, everywhere?

In my long-term and continuous study of successful students, groups, peoples, and nations etc., I have repeatedly found one basic unifying trait, common habit synonymous with this unique sect. And, this group of distinct habits, which I term – HBR (Habit, Behaviour and Routine), is one of the core reasons behind their successes, no matter the nature of their competitive fields. Like one of my distant literary mentors wrote in one of his brilliant books titled, ‘The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business and Success’, Brian Tracy puts it thus: ‘You can study others who have achieved the same goal and by doing what they did, you can get the same results”. I argued in a recent article, which was published by ‘The Nation’ and ‘The Leadership’ newspapers, respectively, titled, ‘Education: The Cloning of a Nobel Laureate’,(many thanks to these patriotic and ingenious organizations); this writer talked about the concept of (HBR) at length. Besides, in my research for this academic article, I came across the story of this interesting American acclaimed self-made millionaire, Dr. John Demartini. How he studied the lifestyles, behaviours and belief systems of Nobel Laureates. He applied the insights he gleaned from his study in his life, and today, he is not only a leading light in his field, he consults for CEOs(Chief Executive Officers) and other top leaders in the world. 

Therefore, another thought-generating question is: what are the basic behaviors and beliefs of President Barack Hussein Obama, Jr, that if applied by blacks all over the world in their diverse fields, would, based on natural laws and principles of human progress, generate – ‘The Barack Obama Effect’? That is: Blacks, emerging firsts, bests and tops in all fields of human endeavours, including the scientific realm and other brain and mind driven arenas, not majorly football\soccer, boxing, music, basketball and other brawl and muscle oriented endeavours? I studied and keenly observed Barack Obama, read books written by him i.e. ‘The Audacity of Hope’; critically listened to his various mind-grabbing speeches, public addresses, watched documentaries, commentaries, critiqued his thoughts and quotes, tried to understand the nature and texture of his belief system etc.; in order to pierce through the Barrack Obama ‘thought-sphere’. It is based on this observational cum exploratory research and my modest scientific understanding of this black African presidential phenomenon that this article was conceived, birthed and taken to the print for the sole benefits of one of the most-maligned races on Earth: the Black people!

In effect, I uncovered what I term the ‘4Bs of Barrack Obama!’ They are, first, Brainpower; second Belief System (BS); third, Bold Aspiration (BA); fourth, Best Mind-set (BM). Empirical evidence and other supporting data are employed to proof each of the 4Bs.

The world, and especially the 21st century is today, a ‘Knowledge Economy.’ Contemporary writers, however, call it – the Information Age, Talent Age or the Age of Thinkers etc. Before now, Africans and blacks in general are taken for people who are intellectually-laidback. Some say they lack CIA (Cognitive and Intellectual Ability); and even some believe Africans and blacks are sub-humans. So many other laughable labels are formulated against this race, in order to keep their backs, permanently down!

Put differently, education, as generally agreed, is one of the most important elements of the brain and if incorporated with DHL (Daily Habit of Learning), it transforms the human brain into brainpower. President Barack Obama is lucky to be born in the 60s; that is, 50 years plus in an ecosystem with the best educational system in the world, today. Being raised by educated parents (Dad, the late Barack H. Obama, Sr, was a senior Kenyan government economist and mum, Stanley Ann Dunhan, an American anthropologist), even though his dad died when Barack was very young, his mother, Indonesian step-father, and relatives ensured that his education didn’t end up benighted. He capitalized on the opportunity to get himself the best of education. After his primary education, and post primary, he preceded to Columbia University and later, Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of Harvard Law report. It is no secret that the legal profession is predicated on thinking, reasoning, research and communication; all these factors convert brain into brainpower! Via solid and sound educational background, Obama has been able to use his mind (intellectual competence) and mouth (communicative prowess) to bewilder the American electorates. These, amid other vital forces, gave him the political clout to emerge as the first black U.S. president. What do these aforementioned insights mean for all blacks? Truth is, it means, as the evidence clearly shows, that we need to strive and get the best of education, first, with this in our competitive kit, then, we can embark on the race for the top in all fields. We all know that our educational backwardness, resulting in our meagre global knowledge output, is the most critical bane of black undoing amongst other races. Nelson Mandela puts it like this, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world.’ Also, the first black African American first lady, Michelle Obama adds, ‘A good education can lift you from the most humble circumstances into a life you never could have imagined…’ Could it ever, have crossed Obama’s mind to aspire to the world’s N0. 1 office if he was an illiterate in one of the drug-dominated slums of Alabama, U.S.? I surrender the answer to you, dearest reader!

In the second place, from my study, one important and revealing behavior of Barack is his Belief System (BS), or personal ideology, generally speaking. Right from the day he hit the global headline, when he delivered a groundbreaking speech, in 2004; his style of behaviors has not changed, although, it might have been upped and polished, due to his current political status. More so, in ‘Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Introduction’, James C.F. Wang wrote in his information-laden book that ‘Ideology is a set of political values, feelings, and ideas that guides individuals to behave in a certain manner for the purpose of achieving a particular goal.’ Any keen observer of this great African American phenomenon will agree with me that President Barack Obama has not deviated from this unique habit. He believes in himself, in his noble ideals – what I call – ‘the audacity of self-belief.’ His personal philosophy has repeatedly been demonstrated in his pattern of practice. And these distinct patterns of behavior have consistently spurred enviable empirical outcomes. The big question, again, is: How can this unique behavioural trait benefit the black race as Africa rises to take its highly-courted position in the comity of continents and earthly races? After all, Barack Obama, like Neil Armstrong, walking on the moon for the first time, in 1969; has stepped on the moon for us (Africans and everyone whose skin is black!) We need to believe in ourselves; develop a consciousness that whatever we can conceive, we can, definitely attain; and this irreligious awareness will help us rise up to global greatness, in due course. Look at Asia, especially China, in today’s world.

Furthermore, call it scientific faith if you like, especially if you don’t subscribe to the concept of any Higher Power. Regarding Bold Aspiration (BA), as one of the observed characteristic of Barack Obama, this is a trait that one cannot fail to notice in the life of this great African American president. Obama displays this in the way and manner in which he attempts things that naturally, or based on circumstantial conditions, seem, ‘un-attemptable and sacred.’ It is the peculiar belief system of Obama that inspired him, to aspire to the presidency of the world’s most powerful nation; despite all the multifaceted odds against him. Blacks and Africans all over the world need to immediately remove the remaining vestige of slavery and start believing in themselves; especially by employing the ‘Barack Obama Model’ as anchor, in order to aspire and attain audacious aspirations, or what I conceive as 3G(Great and Grand Goals),beginning from now. 

In the same vein, the late Nigerian sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo even put it philosophically, when he said, ‘It is not life that matters, but the courage one puts into it.’ Obama, from all intents and purposes, has consistently shown the audacity of boldness, of courage and of change, not only hope! Barack Obama, himself said, ‘It is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself, that you will realize your full potential.’ He could not be further from the truth, taking a critical look at his life, the audacity of ambitions, his characteristic demonstration of courage , even when it relates to policies that seem utopian and outlandish like – ‘the largely contentious –‘Obamacare’ and the list is endless!

In reading the book of one of the brightest and early pioneers of ‘Positive Psychology’, James Allen, the legendary author of ‘Mind is the Master’; I diligently read and reflected on one of his collections titled, ‘As a Man Thinks.’ In this brilliant book, Allen clearly stated that ‘our thoughts determine our lives.’ If you think you are the best and that you deserve the best, this believe materializes in your life. Wait a minute, dear reader, please, let us reason together here, especially as it relates to Best Mind-set (BM) theory, have you pondered on why Obama vied for the president of the U.S.? Why he chose to study law, considering the fact that lawyers have ruled America more than people of other professions? Why he aspired to the president of the Harvard law report, and becoming the first black American to achieve such intellectual feat? Why he elected to ‘net’ Michelle, a lawyer and obviously his senior in the field? The list goes on and on. Can you see similar patterns or mode of mind and of course, motion? What insights and lessons do all these present to every Nigerian, African and black, all over the world? 

This, however, reminds me of one time U.S. first lady, the intellectually wise Eleanor Roosevelt, who said long time ago that, ‘No one can make you feel inferior, except by your consent.’ I am aware of the psychological wounds, some of us still carry around, as a result of our past, skin pigmentation, and the continuous injuries and mental insults blacks suffer from remarks and biased studies being propagated and of course disseminated by some researchers, scientists and writers with regard to black intelligence, (IQ) as it is popularly known. I am also aware of studies (and media utterances!) by James Watson, Professor Authur Jenson, Richard Herrnstein, Charles Murray etc. I have come across and sometimes read and reflected on other arguable and contentious intellectual works such as ‘The Bell curve’, ‘The Origin and Nature of Intelligence’, ‘Gene and Genius’ ‘Jewish Genius’, ‘Chinese Phenomenon’ etc…

Surprisingly enough, all this, didn’t deter President Barack Obama from believing in himself and aiming for gold! In fact, it should not restrain any of us; rather, inspire us to take the ‘right’ risks. Fellow blacks and Africans, it is all in the mind! Tony Robbins had said we should ‘Awaken the Giant Within’; and Lance Secretan wrote in world-class book, titled ‘Inspire! What All Great Leaders Do’, that ‘However, if you reflect honestly and deeply to mine the riches that are buried among your most precious inner resources – you may just change your life.’ We cannot afford to do less; it is inside each of us as a race. God is never partial! Therefore, henceforth, we should make education a matter of continental priority in general and national security issue in particular; believe in ourselves as God’s own people, too; put on the garment of courage and aspire to great and audacious dreams and inculcate the mindset of the best, going forward. The 21st century will not only be the ‘Age of Asia’, alone; but of the ‘Rise of Africa.’ Yes, we definitely, should! 

Adedayo A. Olumuyiwa, is an academic consultant and speaker; and the author of ‘Education: Secrets of Chinese and Asian Students.’ 08167518756 and fadek2f@gmail.com